


Ranibow Sprimkles

by eternaleponine



Series: Where There Is A Flame [37]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Coronavirus, Gen, Ohana, Pandemics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28669086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternaleponine/pseuds/eternaleponine
Summary: Since the Coronavirus pandemic hit two months ago, the country has been in lockdown, and Veelu has been staying on Ohana Farm with her Best Tol Friend, Echo, and her family.  Now it's almost her birthday, and it's time for the Ohana to make a little magic for her in the midst of all the doom and gloom... with a little help from the Birthday Unicorn.ForDialedIn, who requested anything in the Flame-verse, but particularly Murphy/Emori, as part of my Will Write For Votes campaign.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Echo/Luna (The 100), Emori/John Murphy (The 100), Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Series: Where There Is A Flame [37]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/546589
Comments: 32
Kudos: 39





	Ranibow Sprimkles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DialedIn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DialedIn/gifts).



> **A Note on the Timeline:**
> 
> The events of Where There Is A Flame take place between December, 2015 and July, 2020. As a result, it's not really possible for me to retroactively go back and add in a pandemic when it actually happened. So for the purposes of this story, the Coronavirus doesn't hit until March, 2023. And maybe, since they theoretically have a functioning government at that point, they won't still be in the thick of it ten months later...

Echo had just settled onto the couch after getting the goats in the barn for the night when Veelu climbed into her lap, collapsing against her chest like all of her bones had suddenly turned to Jell-O, and heaved the biggest sigh Echo had ever heard from someone so small. 

"What's up, Little Monster?" Echo asked, pushing the hair that had escaped Veelu's pigtails back from her face. 

Veelu scrunched up her nose, and Echo wasn't sure if it was at the nickname or because Echo maybe still smelled a little like goat. Not that Veelu wasn't used to the smells of farm life by now.

When schools had shut down back in March, Echo hadn't waited for Abby to ask, because she knew she never would. After a brief family meeting, she'd offered to have Veelu come stay with them so Abby didn't have to worry about trying to homeschool a child while working long hours every day at the hospital, and then worrying about what she might be exposing her to when she came home. Sure, Marcus could work from home, but that didn't leave a lot of time for supervising an energetic and inquisitive six-year-old. 

That had been almost two months ago. Abby had warned her that the two-week timeframe the schools (and nearly everyone else) posited was optimistic, but Echo hadn't balked. They would already have Adria at home, and Madi when she came to visit. What was one more? 

But as the days and weeks piled up, it was starting to take its toll, especially on Veelu. She was old enough – and smart enough – to understand at least the basics of the virus and its spread. She understood why it was safer for her – for everyone – if she didn't see her Mommy and Daddy in person right now, but that didn't make it any easier. A bedtime story read via FaceTime was a poor substitute for good night hugs and kisses and being tucked into her own bed.

Not that she didn't get read to and tucked in here. When it became clear that she wouldn't be going home at the end of the initial two weeks they'd planned on, they'd borrowed the Narnia books from Madi, who had pointed out that Veelu coming to stay at the farm wasn't entirely unlike the Pevensie children being sent out of London during the Blitz, and Veelu was very nearly the same age as Lucy. The books, along with the movies, had been fruitful fodder for the smols' imaginations, and they'd only been a little disappointed when a thorough investigation of every closet and cupboard on the farm didn't reveal any doorways to the magical land.

"Do you want to talk about it, or do you just want to cuddle?" Echo asked. 

Veelu shrugged, then tipped her face to look up at Echo, her lower lip poking out just slightly. "I am Very Tragic," she pronounced. 

"I'm sorry to hear that," Echo said. "Why are you Very Tragic?" She did her best to put capital letters on the words the way Veelu did (none of them could quite explain what it was about how she said certain words, but they all agreed they could clearly hear the capital letters), wanting to make it clear that she was taking this seriously. 

"Because it is almost my birthday and there will be No Party," Veelu said. 

"That _is_ very tragic," Echo agreed. "We can have a little party here on the farm." 

Veelu sighed. "It's Not The Same." 

"I know." Echo wrapped her arms around Veelu and hugged her, feeling her go soft in her arms as she stroked her hair and rubbed her back. Even if they had a party with everyone on the farm (and they'd decided as soon as things started shutting down and people were advised to shelter in place as much as possible that they weren't going to restrict interaction between the two houses, because keeping Madi and Adria apart would have driven everyone involved crazy) it wouldn't be the same as having the whole Ohana there... or even just having her parents. She kissed Veelu's head and rested her cheek against her hair while Veelu played with one of the buttons on her flannel. 

"You know what we could do?" Echo asked. 

Veelu looked up again. "What?"

"We could call Murphy and see if he can get a message to the Birthday Unicorn." 

Veelu's eyes went wide. "There's a Birthday Unicorn?"

"Sure," Echo said. "Remember we saw it on Easter, helping the Easter Bunny deliver baskets?" Veelu's eyes brightened and her lips started to twitch. Echo wasn't sure if she actually believed any of it or if she was just playing along (she suspected the latter) but if it got a smile out of her, it was worth it. "And we all know Murphy's Patronus is a unicorn, so I'm sure he has a way of getting in contact." 

"That's true," Veelu said. "Can we call him right now?" 

Echo smiled and slipped her phone out of her pocket. "I don't see why not."

* * *

"What was that about?" Emori asked, groaning as she tried to scoop a squirming Charlie up. At 20-months, they were getting too big to be easily lifted and carried, at least with one arm. As hard as it was to find any kind of silver lining in the midst of a pandemic, Emori couldn't help but be grateful for the fact that she hadn't had to figure out how to wrangle a rambunctious toddler in public. When she went out – which was rarely – it was alone, and only for as long as it took to accomplish whatever errand had become unavoidable. 

Charlie giggled and tried to escape, until Emori fixed them with a stern look. "I need you to help Mama," she told them. "It's bath time."

"Noooooo!" Charlie said, shaking their head violently from side to side, then laughed and launched themselves at Daddy as he approached. 

"I have to get a message to the Birthday Unicorn," he said, blowing a raspberry against Charlie's neck and making them squeal and wriggle with delight, throwing their head back to let him do it again before their first fit of giggles had fully subsided. 

"The Birthday Unicorn?" Emori asked, her eyebrows creeping up as she headed for the bathroom to start running water into the tub. 

"Yup. Turns out it was the Birthday Unicorn helping deliver Easter baskets," he said. 

"I see," Emori said. "Can you—" She gestured to Charlie. 

"On it," Murphy said, setting them down and beginning the process of getting them out of their clothes, which could be extremely easy or impossibly difficult, depending on Charlie's mood. Luckily, it seemed they were feeling cooperative tonight... maybe because they saw some of their favorite tub toys already bobbing in the water. 

"What's the message?" Emori asked. 

"Veelu is hoping if the Birthday Unicorn isn't too busy, it might be able to deliver a birthday cake to her at the farm, since they can't go to the store and she can't have a party. With ranibow sprimkles." He flashed her a crooked smile.

Emori blinked, sure she'd misheard. "Ranibow sprimkles?"

"Google it," he said, offering her a towel to dry her hand so she could safely handle her phone as he freed Charlie from their diaper and plunked them in the water, where they grabbed a toy in each fist and splashed them delightedly, babbling to themselves in a mix of recognizable words and gibberish. 

Emori dutifully typed the words into her phone, and an image of misspelled salad (or dessert) bar toppings popped up, prompting her to Choose Her Fighter from Ranibow Sprimkle, Kepchup,Spinch and Penuts. She snorted. "I'm guessing one of the older girls showed her that," she said. 

"My money's on Madi," Murphy said. 

"I wouldn't bet against you." She put her phone away and settled in just out of the splash zone, letting Charlie play for a while before they got down to the business of scrubbing and shampooing. How a child who never went farther than the backyard managed to develop such a layer of grime remained a mystery. Luckily, they loved bath time once they were in the water. "What are you going to do?"

" _Obviously_ I'm going to send my Patronus off to the land of unicorns to deliver the message and make sure Veelu has as happy a birthday as possible, given the circumstances," Murphy said, rolling his eyes like this should have been obvious. 

"Seriously, though."

"Seriously, I'm going to—"

"John." She fixed him with a flat stare, and he grinned. 

"I'm going to make the kid a cake. With ranibow sprimkles. And I'm going to put on my inflatable unicorn suit again and I'm going to deliver it to the farm on her birthday. What's the point of owning the thing if I don't use it to make a little magic?" 

Emori scooted over, pushing up onto her knees so she was on a level with Murphy sitting on the toilet lid, and kissed him. "You know I love you," she said. 

"Oh yeah?" He smirked. "Prove it."

"After Charlie goes to bed," she promised. 

Murphy's smile widened. "Okay, kid. Bath time is officially over." He reached for the tub, laughing when Emori swatted him, but grabbed the bottle of baby bodywash to hurry the process along.

* * *

"Hep!" Charlie whined. "Heeeeeep!" They rattled at the baby gate that blocked them from going into the kitchen, where Murphy was mixing and pouring batter. 

"I'm not opening the gate, Charlie," Emori said. "Daddy is busy." 

"Hep hep hep hep HEP!" Charlie insisted, stomping their feet and pointing into the kitchen. 

Emori blinked, finally understanding... or at least thinking she understood. "You want to help Daddy?" she asked.

"Hep!" Charlie said, grabbing the bars of the gate again and peering through. 

Emori smiled and picked them up, bracing herself against the door frame as she lifted one leg over the gate, then the other. "Someone wants to help," she said. 

Murphy looked up and smiled. "Hey, munchkin," he said. "You want to help?" 

Charlie nodded enthusiastically, wisps of hair flying into their eyes, which Emori tried futilely to brush back. They really needed a haircut, or maybe a headband, but the first wasn't happening unless someone in the house decided to try their hand at it, and Emori didn't trust them with scissors near her baby, and the second wasn't likely to stay on long. 

"Okay," Murphy said. "You can help." He took Charlie from Emori and stood them on a stool, handing them a big spoon and holding them steady. "Stir the batter!" he said 

Emori wasn't sure what he was expecting, but considering that Charlie was still mastering handling a spoon specifically sized for toddlers, it wasn't surprising that trying to have them stir a big bowl of batter with a spoon nearly as long as their arm didn't end well. Batter splashed everywhere, and then the bowl tipped. Murphy managed to grab it before it spilled over, and then grab Charlie before they crashed down off the stool.

"So helpful," he quipped, shaking his head. "Maybe..." He looked around, finally finding a small empty bowl and a spoon. He strapped Charlie into their high chair, pulling it close but not too close, put a little water in the bowl, and let them go to town stirring and splashing to their heart's content. 

"Good thinking," Emori said. She looked around the kitchen, her forehead furrowing at the mess that had existed even before Hurricane Charlie hit. There were bowls and pans and ingredients and cooling racks everywhere. "How many cakes are you making?" she asked. 

"Let's see," Murphy said. "One for the farm, one for here, one for Niylah. One for Veelu's parents, one for Grammy Lou, one for Anya, Raven and Tris. One for Aden if he's home from school. And one for Gina and the kids. So eight?"

Emori frowned, mentally running through the family. "Bellamy?" she asked.

"Fuck that dude," Murphy said, with more venom than Emori had expected. "Has anyone even heard from him since all this shit went down? I sure as hell haven't, and—"

"John," Emori said gently, with a significant look at Charlie, who had stopped splashing and was listening to every word. "Language." 

"Oops," he said. "Even Gina has barely heard from him. You'd think he'd want to know how his kids are doing, but apparently not." 

Emori grimaced. She'd been talking to Gina pretty regularly, since she'd already been through all of the phases of toddlerhood with Persy, and was a good source of commiseration when things got tough, and of reassurance that, 'Yes, that's normal, don't worry,' when they got bizarre. Gina had had her second baby, Artemis (Arti for short) on Valentine's Day, and they'd all barely gotten a chance to admire her before everything shut down. Although Bellamy had had the option to work from home, he'd opted not to, saying it was impossible to get anything done with a 3-year-old and a screaming infant up at all hours of the day and night. He'd tried to sell it as being better for everyone, because he would be getting a daily bonus for working onsite, but no one was buying it. Gina had finally gotten tired (physically, mentally, and emotionally) of being essentially a single parent, and gone to stay with her mother, who was more than happy to help out. 

Although none of them said it out loud, Emori knew she wasn't the only one wondering if Gina would go back when all of this was over. She also knew no one would blame her if she didn't. 

"That's a lot of cake," Emori said.

Murphy shrugged. "I've got plenty of time on my hands," he said. "At least this lets me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile." 

Emori reached out and squeezed his arm and he looked over and smiled. Being out of work because restaurants had been stripped to skeleton crews, if they hadn't closed their doors altogether (potentially to never open again, if this all dragged on for too much longer) didn't sit well with Murphy, who wasn't the kind of person who could sit idle for long. Maybe she should nudge him about talking to Lincoln about getting his own business started. Even if he couldn't get it off the ground until the world started opening up again, at least planning would give him something to focus on. But that was a conversation for another time. Right now it was better to just let him work his magic for Veelu's birthday.

"Maybe we can set up some kind of Zoom call with everyone so Veelu can have a party and we can all eat our cake at the same time," Emori suggested. 

"My thoughts exactly," Murphy said. "And when I do the cake drop-offs, I can do gift pick-ups. Not that anyone has to get her a gift, but I'm sure there are people who already have, or will want to once they're reminded her birthday is coming up." He shook his head. "I can't even imagine being a kid in all this." 

"At least Charlie is little enough they probably won't remember," Emori said, stroking back their hair again. Charlie grinned up at her. 

"And they think having Mommy and Daddy and Auntie O and Uncle Lincoln home all the time is the best thing ever," Murphy said. "Isn't that right, munchkin? You _love_ having someone to play with whenever you want!" 

Charlie clapped their hands and shook their head, not in negation but just because they seemed to like doing it. 

"Silly baby," Emori said. "If this goes on long enough, you'll have a baby cousin to hang out with all the time, too." 

Because even though she'd tried to keep it under wraps, Emori had recognized the pattern of symptoms Octavia had started to show right at the outset of quarantine. That, combined with the fact that Emori knew they'd started trying to have a baby – or, more accurately, stopped trying to not have a baby – back when Gina got pregnant for the second time, made it a not terribly difficult conclusion to come to. Octavia and Lincoln were waiting until they were safely in the second trimester to tell the rest of the family, but when Emori had flat-out asked, Octavia had confirmed her suspicions. 

"God, I hope we're not all trapped here for that long," Murphy said. "One round of sleepless nights and stinky diapers was enough. I got snipped to make sure I wouldn't have to live through it again."

"Pretty sure they would tell you payback's a bi—scuit," Emori quickly amended, because the last thing she needed was Charlie parading around the house chanting 'bitch bitch bitch'. 

Murphy laughed. "Nice save." 

"Should I leave you to it?" Emori asked. 

Murphy shrugged. "I don't mind the company," he said. "And unlike _some people_ ," he turned to look at Charlie, his face contorted into a ridiculous expression that sent the baby into peals of laughter, "you might actually be able to lend a hand."

"But only one," Emori said. 

Murphy reached out and hooked a floury hand through her beltloop, pulling her in and kissing her soundly. "Your one hand is better than a dozen less amazing people's," he said. 

She felt her cheeks warm and she rolled her eyes. "Keep that up and you might have to finish these cakes later," she teased. 

"Well they _do_ take time to bake," Murphy said. "As long as I set a timer..."

She gave him a flat glare, then laughed. "Yeah, no. There will be absolutely no racing to the finish line." 

"Guess I'd better get busy, then." The corner of his mouth curled upward. "Pun fully intended."

* * *

"Do you want to come along?" Murphy asked. 

Emori eyed their car, and the boxed-up cakes, dubiously. "Is there even room?"

"We'll make room," he said. "I know you're as sick of being cooped up as I am, and even if we can only wave hello from a safe distance, it's better than nothing, right?"

Emori considered, then agreed. "Let me just get Charlie ready," she said, "while you get the cakes loaded up." 

Murphy nodded absently, clearly already playing Tetris in his head, figuring out how to get them all stowed to minimize slippage and the potential for disaster. He'd already planned out the delivery route – luckily they didn't need to account for whether or not people would be home, because where else would anyone be? – the night before, so that it was as close to a continuous loop as they could manage. Even with his careful planning, it was likely to take a couple of hours. Hopefully Charlie wouldn't get sick of being strapped in the car seat before they finished.

Luckily, Charlie was in a cooperative mood and didn't fight Emori every step of the way getting dressed. It had been hard enough when they were a floppy baby incapable of providing any assistance with the process; now that Charlie had a mind of their own and the ability to run away, there were some days when Emori just gave up and let them run around in whatever she'd managed to get on them before they started having a meltdown because it just wasn't worth the struggle. 

"Okay," she said. "Elevator going up!" Which was Charlie's cue to wrap their arms around her neck so she could get her arm under their bottom and scoop them onto her hip. She shifted from side to side, doing a little dance, then kissed Charlie's cheek and carried them out to the car. 

Their first stop was Grammy Lou's, since it was the most out of the way, and it was clear from the expression on her face – what they could see of it above her mask, anyway – that it killed her not to be able to grab Charlie and smother them with kisses. She had to make do with cooing at them for a few minutes while they hid their face against Emori's neck, having decided they weren't too sure about people they didn't see all the time at the moment. 

"I hope you have room," Grammy Lou said, "because I have presents for _all_ the grandkids, not just Veelu." By which she hopefully meant great-grandkids, because technically all of the members of the Ohana who were of an age with Clarke had become her surrogate grandchildren. 

Murphy glanced at the car, looking a little worried. "I hope so too," he said. "You know it's not anyone else's birthday, right? Or Christmas?"

"I know," she said. "I also know that they're going through a terrible time right now, even if they aren't fully conscious of it, and if I can do something to brighten their day even a little bit, I'm going to do it." 

Murphy conceded the point, handed over the cake, and did a little reorganizing to make room for a bag of gifts that would rival a small-town Santa's. They said their goodbyes – even Charlie was persuaded to wave – and got back in the car for their next stop.

"Thank you so much for doing this," Marcus said, stepping onto the porch. "You have no idea how much it means to us to see everyone stepping up to make this the best birthday possible for Vera." 

Emori could hear the emotion in his voice, and she couldn't even imagine how difficult a decision it must have been for him and Abby to make. In their position, she wasn't sure she could have done the same. But she didn't have to work a job that put her at significant risk of coming in contact with a disease that was barely understood and still lacked a clear treatment protocol. If she had to carry that burden, and the fear that she might pass it on to Charlie, well... that might make it a much easier decision to make.

"What else is family for?" Murphy said. "I just hope you didn't get Veelu anything too big, because Grammy Lou already took up more than her fair share of the present space." 

The corners of Marcus' eyes crinkled. "No, nothing too big," he said. "Mostly we've been having things sent directly to the farm." But he did hand over a couple of small gift bags, and they tucked them away out of Charlie's reach, because they would have liked nothing more than to tear into them and fling tissue paper around like confetti. 

"Thanks again," he said. "When you see her—" He stopped himself and shook his head. "Never mind." And he ducked inside before they could see the tears that had risen in his eyes spill over.

Murphy put his arms around Emori and hugged her, and she leaned into him, resting her forehead against his shoulder. "I know," he said softly. "Do you need a minute to hug your baby?"

"No," Emori said. "The more we let them out of the car seat, the less they're going to want to go back in." But she did lean between the seats to grab Charlie's foot, giving it a little jiggle. Charlie looked at her and smiled, and the ache in her chest eased just a little.

They made a few more quick stops, exchanging cakes for little gifts, before pulling up in front of Gina's mom's house. Gina was waiting on the porch, baby Arti in her arms, and had to grab onto Persy by the cape she wore to keep her from charging out to the car before it even stopped moving.

"But Mumma!" Persy said, staring up at Gina indignantly. "It's Charlie! Charlie's here!" 

They had been allowing the kids to have 'play dates' via FaceTime whenever they could, and although it was unclear how much Charlie really understood what was going on, they seemed to enjoy getting to interact with someone close to their age. They also loved the videos that Madi, Adria, and Veelu made of them reading different picture books. Clarke had mentioned they were working on branching out into puppet shows and other ways to present stories, which was something Emori looked forward to, because it was nice to be able to stick a tablet in front of Charlie for a few minutes so she could do things like, oh, go to the bathroom in peace once in a while.

"I know, Pers," Gina said. "But—"

" _And_ I have my mask on!" Persy said, pointing to her face. 

The mask had a print of kittens playing with colorful balls of yarn, and Emori was sure it had been a gift from Tris. When she'd been forced to put her growing business largely on hold because she couldn't meet with clients in person, she'd turned her energy to making masks. She'd made sure that everyone in the family had several days' worth, tailoring the prints to everyone's individual interests and personalities (or as Veelu would say, their _aesthetic_ ). Murphy was wearing his favorite one: unicorns farting rainbows. No one knew where Tris had found the fabric, but everyone agreed it suited Murphy perfectly. After the family had been taken care of, she'd started making them to donate to hospitals and organizations that either needed them for themselves, or would distribute them to those who might not be able to afford to buy their own. Raven thought she might be making masks to try to stave off feelings of helplessness and despair; it was something she could do in a situation that was so utterly out of their control. Anya agreed, but noted that for a while she'd been overcompensating, sacrificing food and sleep to have more time to sew, until they'd gently but firmly pointed out that she was not responsible for protecting the entire world, and it was okay to take a break and relax sometimes. She wouldn't be able to help anyone if she burned herself out completely. 

Persy turned and looked at Emori, who had gotten out of the car because she couldn't resist getting a little closer to get a look at the baby. "This is my superhero mask!" she said. "Only 'stead of on my eyes I wear it on my face 'cause that's how we keep people safe!" 

"That explains the cape," Emori said.

Gina nodded, rolling her eyes but smiling. "Every time we leave the house. Even if we're just going to the back yard." 

"Please can Charlie come out?" Persy asked, clasping her hands in front of her face. "Please, Mumma? Please, 'Mori?" 

Emori looked at Murphy, who hesitated, then gave a slight nod. They knew Gina and her family had been keeping a strict quarantine; the likelihood of letting Charlie play with a masked Persy for a few minutes while the adults visited from a safe social distance putting any of them in danger was as close to zero as it could get in the midst of a pandemic. 

"Did you wash your hands before you came outside?" Emori asked, opening the back door of the car and beginning the somewhat arduous process (even if she'd had two hands – she knew because she'd watched Murphy struggle with it too) of freeing Charlie from the car seat. 

"Yes," Persy said. "But I'll do it again!" She darted past her mother, then had to wait for Gina to open the door for her so she could go wash her hands again. 

"Congrats, Gina," Murphy said, retrieving the box with their cake from the back seat. "Your three-year-old is officially smarter than at least half the adults in this country." 

Gina smiled. "She's a good kid... most of the time," she said. She glanced down at the baby in her arms, who was quiet for the moment... but only because she was sleeping. When she was awake, she was usually screaming. The pediatrician said it was gas and reflux, and she'd been given medicine to help prevent it which helped some, but mostly Gina had been told she would just have to wait for her to grow out of it. 

Persy, understandably, was less than thrilled with the situation. Not long after Gina brought Arti home, she'd asked when her sister was going to arrive. Gina had explained that this was her sister. Persy had considered for a second, then looked Gina right in the eye and said, "No thank you," and walked away. 

Not much had changed in the months since. Gina had told Emori more than once that if she'd had the second one first, she never would have had a second. Emori hoped, for all of their sakes, that Arti _would_ grow out of her chronic digestive upset (and subsequent inconsolability). They'd gotten lucky with Charlie, who had done the usual amount of crying and spitting up for a baby, but for the most part had been easy to deal with. 

Persy reemerged from the house, waving her still dripping hands. "All clean!" she announced. She raced up to Emori. "Charlie! Charlie! It's me!" she said, and Charlie squirmed until Emori set them down. Persy looked like she might explode from having to resist the urge to throw her arms around her friend, but she clasped her hands behind her back even as Charlie walked toward her, because toddlers didn't understand social distancing. "Come on!" Persy said. "Let's go play!" She started running around the house to the back yard, but slowed down when she realized Charlie's shorter legs and somewhat less certain balance couldn't keep up. "I have a slide! Do you like slides?" The adults trailed behind, the distance between them so much harder to maintain when it would be so easy to just reach out...

Murphy put his arm around her and Emori leaned into him. At least they had each other, and that wasn't nothing. 

They stayed for as long as they dared with cakes still waiting in the car, which wasn't very long. When Gina told Persy it was time for Charlie to go, she stuck out her lip and crossed her arms. "No fair," she said. "Mumma, can we trade That Baby for Charlie?"

Emori pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. "But if we traded, we would miss Charlie!"

"You would have That Baby," Persy said. "She's..." She scrunched her face, clearly trying to think of a positive selling point and drawing a blank. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I hope Charlie can come play again soon," she said.

"I hope so too," Murphy said, scooping Charlie up upside-down, making them squeal with glee as he swung them up and around, settling them on his hip. "Say bye-bye, Charlie!"

Charlie curled their fingers in a wave, watching Persy until they turned the corner. They squirmed and whined as Murphy strapped them back into their seat, and Emori turned in her seat to try to get them smiling again, until Murphy put the car in gear and she had to face front. With everything going on, it didn't feel like the right time to take any chances. 

They finally pulled into the driveway of the farm, and Murphy pulled off so they were out of sight of the house, even though Emori had texted Echo to let them know they were on their way, and to keep Veelu occupied so the magic wasn't ruined by seeing Murphy make the transition from honorary uncle to Birthday Unicorn. 

"I know," Murphy said as Emori looked wistfully over her shoulder at the house. To be so close to her best friend, and unable to just walk up and knock on the door (or not even bother knocking – Echo had given her a key for the rare occasions when they bothered to lock the door at all), was the worst kind of torture. For the first few weeks, when they'd still had hope that it would all be over soon and things would go back to something remotely resembling normal, she hadn't minded much. Frequent texts and FaceTime chats had helped fill the gap. But as time wore on and the restrictions wore them all down, Emori found herself getting more and more frustrated, the temptation to go for 'just a quick visit' increasingly hard to resist. 

Emori forced a smile as she looked back at Murphy. She didn't doubt he could sympathize, but she wondered if he could truly empathize. He had Lincoln in the house with him, who was the closest thing he had to a best friend. If asked, Emori knew he would say _she_ was his best friend. So she wasn't sure if he really did know how hard it was to be away from someone you loved like a sister... even though he had a sister of his own. They were close – and had gotten closer since Charlie was born – but in the way that you could be close with someone where you were totally okay with not talking for days, even weeks at a time, but when you're back together you pick up right where you left off. "Are you going to be able to get it all in one trip?" she asked. 

"Hope so," he said, grunting as he struggled into the unicorn suit and zipped it up, then turned on the little unit that drew in air and puffed it up to proper chunky unicorn proportions. "This is gonna be awkward," he said, but she could see he was grinning through the little plastic pane that allowed him to see out. 

In the end, they had to improvise a sort of sack for some of the gifts out of one of Charlie's blankets, which Murphy secured with Emori's spare hair elastic. He looked more like a burro than a unicorn by the time he had everything gathered up, and his progress to the house – and Emori was sure he was wishing they could have parked closer – was an ungraceful series of lurches as he juggled the load while trying to keep the cake level. 

When he disappeared around the corner, Charlie let out a whine of protest, pressing their face against the window. Emori smiled, wondering if the Birthday Unicorn was going to have to become a Thing. She didn't think Murphy would mind if it did; the world could use a little more magic. Especially now, but just in general. 

When he returned, he deflated the suit and climbed back in the car, leaning over for a kiss before turning to make faces at Charlie until they laughed. 

"Back to our cells," Emori joked darkly as he put the car into gear and pointed them toward home. 

Murphy glanced over at her, then reached over and put his hand on her knee, squeezing gently. "This won't be forever," he said. "And just wait 'til you see everyone's faces when they realize what you've helped create."

"I just came along for the ride," Emori said. "You did all the work."

"Work I never would have thought about doing if you hadn't dragged me into this crazy family," he said. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't believe in magic." 

Emori snorted, but she reached across and put her hand over his. _Neither would I._

* * *

"Look, Veelu!" Echo said, pointing out the window. "Look who's here!"

Veelu rushed to the window, pressing her face to the glass. "The Birthday Unicorn!" she said. She started to rush for the door, then stopped. "Can unicorns get the Coronavirus?" she asked. 

"I don't know," Echo said.

Veelu's face scrunched up, considering. "Better not take a chance," she decided, and went back to the window to watch as a puffy white unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail came up the front walk and left a box and several bags on the doorstep. It waved as it trotted past, and Echo had to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at Murphy's antics. 

Veelu waved back, and when the unicorn had disappeared around the corner, made a beeline for the door to go retrieve her treasures. "You better carry the cake," she told Echo. "It looks Very Huge and Heavy!" 

"Well, we need enough for eight people," Echo said, but as she hefted the box that contained the cake, she was pretty sure there was enough there for the whole Ohana. They would be eating cake for _days_... but given the state of the world, she didn't think she would hear anyone complaining. The last thing any of them were worried about was their waistline. 

"And look!" Veelu said. "There's _presents_! For _me_!" 

"Of course there are," Echo said. "It's your birthday!" But she didn't actually know where the presents had come from. She hadn't hidden anything for Murphy to 'deliver' – her gifts for Veelu were still tucked in her bedroom closet. Maybe Abby and Marcus had reached out to him? 

Tucked in with the cake was instructions to start an Ohana Zoom call at a certain time that night – slightly after dinner time – which Echo dutifully followed while Luna put the candles – rainbow, of course – in the cake.

Lexa pulled out her tablet and started to set it up, and Luna raised an eyebrow. "You're going to Zoom from the same room?" she asked. 

"You're a poet and you don't know it!" Madi chimed in before Lexa could answer. "You rhyme all the time!" 

Clarke groaned and playfully tried to pinch Madi's lips together, while Madi laughed and dodged and finished carrying the dishes the sink, where Adria was arranging them in the dishwasher just so. 

"She's got it down to an art form," Ontari said. "None of the rest of us dares put anything in there for fear we do it wrong and she gets mad at us." She made an angry face, then swept Adria into a quick hug so the girl would know she was only teasing. Adria just rolled her eyes at her, trying to make an angry face back, but it was ruined by the giggles that bubbled up. 

"Yes, I'm Zooming from the same room," Lexa said. "Do you think eight of us are going to fit in one screen?" 

Luna silently conceded the point, setting the cake in front of Veelu, who of course had the place of honor right in front of the screen, while Echo looked over her shoulder. As the faces of their family popped up on screen one by one, she found herself blinking hard to keep them in focus.

Because Murphy – sorry, the Birthday Unicorn – hadn't just made and delivered one cake. He'd made rainbow sprinkle cakes of various sizes and brought them to every member of the Ohana, so that when Veelu had her cake, she got to share it with everyone else. Along the way he'd picked up gifts, and now there was a small mountain of them on the table. 

As they began to sing, Veelu was beaming so brightly she outshone the candles on her cake, and they all clapped and cheered when she blew them all out in one breath. They oohed and aahed over her gifts, and even though they couldn't be in one place, for the first time since the shit hit the fan, it really felt like they were all together as a family. 

Eventually people started to sign off to put kids or themselves to bed, and Veelu tugged on Echo until she picked her up (even though she was getting a little too big for it – her Best Smol Friend wasn't nearly so small as she'd once been). "Did you have a happy birthday?" Echo asked. 

Veelu sniffled and nodded, tears beading her lashes. "I love that Birthday Unicorn," she said. "It brought me the best birthday ever." 

Echo smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Until next year," she said. 

"Until next year," Veelu agreed. "Do you think the Birthday Unicorn will still come even if there isn't any more Coronavirus?" 

"I'm sure it will," Echo said. 

"Good," Veelu said. She rested her head on Echo's shoulder for a minute, then lifted it up and squirmed out of her arms. 

"Where are you going?" Echo asked. 

"I have a Very Important Project to do!" Veelu said, racing up the stairs to her room. 

"Don't forget it'll be time for bed soon!" Echo called after her. 

"I won't!" she called back, and then her door closed, and Echo tried not to wonder (or worry) too much about what was going on behind it. 

Luna slid her arms around Echo's waist, pulling her in and pouting just a little until Echo kissed her. "You did a good thing," she said softly. 

"Murphy did it, not me," Echo said. 

"You thought of it," Luna said. 

"Not making cakes for everyone. Not—"

"Will you just take the compliment?" Luna said. 

Echo opened her mouth, then closed it. " _Danke, Liebe._ "

"That's better," Luna said, and then made Echo forget all about Veelu, and birthdays, and unicorns, and everything else, for a few minutes... until she remembered she still had to milk the goats, and she was forced to go be a Responsible Adult again.

* * *

When Echo went upstairs to tuck Veelu in, she saw the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under her pillow. "What's that?" she asked.

Veelu looked like she might deny the existence of whatever it was, but then she reached under the pillow and pulled it out, handing it to Echo. "It's a thank you note for the Birthday Unicorn," she said. 

Echo looked at the front, from which a dusting of glitter rained down when she held it up (and now it was going to be all over everything, forever... she made a mental note to wash Veelu's sheets separately from everything else) and saw a drawing of a rainbow-maned unicorn and a rainbow cake from which a fountain of glittery sprinkles exploded. 

Inside, it read: 

_Dear Birthday Unicorn,_

_Thank you Very Very Much for bringing my birthday to my whole Ohana. That is A Lot of Cakes and I know that you are Very Busy so thank you for going Above And Beyond for me. You gave me the most Magical and Amazing Birthday and the Best Day Ever since Coronavirus came. I hope you will come again next year. My birthday is on the same day so you can put it on your calendar just in case._

_Thank you Very Much Again and I Love You._

_Love,_   
_Veelu Kane-Griffin_   
_7 Years Old_

"Adria helped me with the spelling," Veelu said. "She is a Very Wonderful speller."

"She is a Very Wonderful a lot of things," Echo said, making another mental note to hug her daughter extra tight that night, because she had been so patient and understanding about suddenly having a temporary sibling thrust upon her. (Part of the reason Veelu was here and not at Clarke and Lexa's was because Madi would have handled the situation with far less grace.) 

"Yes, she is," Veelu said, taking back the card and putting it under her pillow again. Echo read her another chapter from their current book while Veelu cuddled into her, then tucked her in and kissed her forehead. 

"Good night, Not-So-Little Monster," Echo said. "I love you." 

"I love you too," Veelu said, letting out a huge yawn. "See you in the morning."

Echo blew her a kiss from the door, leaving it open just a crack. "Not if I see you first."

* * *

Emori and Charlie blew kisses from the doorway as Echo drove away, having left an envelope in the mailbox, and stayed a few minutes to have a socially distanced chat before heading back to the farm, hopefully before anyone noticed she'd been gone. 

"Let's see what it is," Emori said, carrying Charlie down to the mailbox... then realizing that didn't actually leave her a hand free to open the mailbox or retrieve its contents. She set Charlie down with stern instructions to stay right next to Mommy... and thankfully Charlie didn't choose that moment to go conveniently deaf. 

"It's for you," she said, when they were safely back inside, handing the envelope to Murphy.

He opened it, and glitter cascaded down to the floor, dusting Charlie's hair, who was of course at his feet with their arms up, grunting in annoyance when he didn't immediately pick them up. Emori watched as his face shifted, the tip of his nose turning red and his eyes going wet. 

"What?" she asked. "What is it?" 

He silently handed it over and picked up their kid, burying his face in Charlie's neck, who wriggled with delight because his breath probably tickled. 

Emori opened the card and read the words, then set it carefully down and put her arm around her husband and their baby, pressing into the embrace. "Looks like you'd better mark your calendar," she said. 

Murphy returned the embrace, kissing her upturned face. "A Birthday Unicorn's work is never done," he said. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
